Puck's Girl
by Jaiaelle
Summary: Rachel is honest with herself about who she wants...and it's Noah Puckerman. Will he be able let go of his insecurities and see what might be with her? Sequel to "Finn's Girl."
1. The Truth

_Author's Note: I promised a sequel, and here it is. The format of this story is going to be different than the last - shorter chapters for one (obviously - the length of the chapters of the other story was about 3,000 words per chapter but this first chapter is only ~900 - the word count might per chapter may increase as the story progresses). It will also mostly be in Rachel's POV as the last story was mostly in Puck's POV. The song that will be in the back of my mind for this story is Bobby's Girl by Marcie Blaine (in the last one it was Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield). That song does not fit Rachel's personality, I don't think. However, I explained what Rachel related to, from the song, and what she didn't. It will also be delved into in further chapters. Sheesh, sorry for the long author's note - it's getting to be the length of the story! So, without further delay, here's the story (and don't forget to review!!!)_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_The Truth_**

A new year meant a new start.

Smoothing out the first page of her brand new journal, Rachel Berry picked up her pink pen, which was filled with pink ink, and began to write her goals for the upcoming rest of the school year. Her list mostly contained words such as "excel," "thrive," and "succeed" but near the bottom she wrote a sentence without thinking about it. It flowed from her pen, from out of the subconscious of her mind.

_And this year, I'd like to be Puck's girl._

Her thought processes came to an immediate halt as her eyes skimmed the words she had just written.

Puck's girl? After he had left her in the middle of that field, alone? Had left her to contemplate how stupid she was to have even believed that there was anything beyond animosity between them?

No, she hadn't felt _anything _when he kissed.

Not a stirring of the heart or a yearning for another kiss.

_Nothing _like that.

For the thousandth time since their complex relationship had formed, back when Mr. Schuester had given her the seemingly innocent task of coaching Puck that he might become a better singer, she compared Puck to Finn.

Where Finn was open to discuss his feelings, Puck was not. Finn hated to see her cry but Puck liked to make her cry. Finn knew how to be gentle and sweet…and Puck did too, occasionally. She believed she was one of the rare few to have actually seen that side of him.

Sighing, Rachel grasped her pen once more, pressing it's tip to the lined paper of her journal.

_The truth, _she wrote, _is that it doesn't matter how many times I stand Puck and Finn side by side to see who's better or more compatible for me, Finn comes out ahead. Every time, Finn has more Pros than Puck and less Cons than Puck. But in my heart, I know he's not the one I want. I thought, for a brief instant, that he could be the perfect high school boyfriend. And while that's probably still true, maybe that's not what I truly desire. _

_Puck…no, _Noah _is the one who, for reasons I don't quite understand, has captured my heart. I _did _feel something when we kissed. But I hurt him because of my inability to let Finn go. Well, now I have. Completely. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to convince Noah of that._

_I don't know if I'll ever be able to convince him that I want to be Noah's girl._

_- - - - - -_

The song was playing for the thirteenth time when Mercedes, Kurt and Tina walked in, weird expressions on their faces.

"What on earth are you listening to?" Kurt asked, placing one had on his hip and arching an eyebrow.

"Isn't this song, like, way old?" Mercedes added.

Tina nodded, agreeing with her friends silently, as she often did.

"Yes," Rachel sighed, flopping on her back, so that her head was reclining on the pillow of her bed. "It's called Bobby's Girl and it's from the 50's or 60's. I've been listening to it all night in preparation for my performance when school starts."

"You're going to sing this song?"

Frowning, Rachel sat up and slid off her bed, hitting the pause button on her stereo before answering Kurt's question. "What's wrong with this song?"

The three of them looked at each other before Tina stuttered, "It j-just doesn't seem like your st-style."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel contemplated telling them about how she had spent the last few days searching the internet intent on finding of the perfect song and had decided on this one only because she could relate, somewhat, to the lyrics of the song. Those lyrics described a desperate girl whose one ambition in life was to date Bobby, whoever he was (most likely a loser, since he kept the poor girl waiting at home while he was off with some trollop), which was nothing like Rachel (being the self-driven and determined soul that she was), but she did understand not being a kid anymore and the hope that one day the guy she had fallen for would stop being such an idiot. That he would open up his eyes and realize that she wasn't a kid but a woman who had intense emotions whirling around inside of her, most of which centered upon him. That he wouldn't be so fearful (because she was sure he was afraid of getting hurt, after he had already been hurt so much).

And when that day came, when he realized all that she wanted him to, she would be a very faithful and thankful girl (_not_ a doormat, as Rachel was convinced the girl singing would become once she actually saw her goal of being Bobby's girl come to fruition).

The one part of the song that bothered her was that Bobby (that loser) had a 'someone else,' which reminded her of how Puck had been, recently, hanging out a lot with Brittany.

Closing her eyes, she pretended that didn't cause her any pain.

Pretending was hard.

"Uh, earth to Rachel," snapped Mercedes, waving a hand in front of Rachel's face. Drifting away from her thoughts, Rachel tried to smile. "What were you thinking about?"

Staring at all of them, Rachel wondered if she could trust them. She hadn't had real friends in so long she wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Finally, she summoned some courage, spilling the whole tale of Puck and Rachel. When she was through, they all regarded her with wide eyes and open mouths.

At long last, Tina stammered, "You're k-kidding, r-right?"


	2. Let Him Down

_Author's Note: Another short chapter. Sorry 'bout that. And, uh, Rachel's wearing boots over her flats because it's snowing. I assume it snows in Ohio and I have no idea what type of attire one might wear in the snow. I'm from Cali, it snows but rarely here and, when it does, there's not much of it. So please excuse my ignorance of snowy weather type things._

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Let Him Down_**

At 5:30 am, Rachel's alarm went off. Stretching, she bounded out of bed, crossing the room to stand before her closet. At 6:15, she had finally selected the perfect outfit. A little while later, she was surveying with satisfaction the way the gray skirt and the pink sweater complimented each other so well. Her knee socks were argyle, pink and gray, of course, to match the rest of her attire. Her hair looked fine down, though she wasn't content until she had run her brush through it at least one hundred times. In her mirror, she admired the sheen of her brown locks under her bedroom light. Lastly, she applied a sheer layer of gloss to her lips.

Once she was done, she basically looked as she did every other day of the year but she didn't feel the need to change her appearance to impress anyone, not even Noah Puckerman. If he didn't think she was attractive just as she was, then maybe she would adjust her desire of becoming his girl.

Once out of the house, bundled in very warm peacoat, her flats shielded from the snow by a pair of boots, she walked, head bent against the wind. When a car stopped next to her, she turned her head suspiciously. Behind the wheel, waving enthusiastically at her, was Finn Hudson. Sighing, she ran around to the passenger's side, entering the blue station wagon that his mom had purchased for him, with her meager savings (Finn's words).

"Hey Rachel," he greeted her.

Clasping her hands in her lap, she replied with a more somber hello. "Are you excited for 2010?" she asked him.

Glancing over his shoulder to check for oncoming traffic, he nodded his head. "Totally. It's a new year full of new, uh -"

"Possibilities," Rachel finished for him.

"Right, possibilities," he echoed. "I mean, who knows what could happen, right?"

Seeing the light in his eyes made Rachel feel queasy. Never in her life had she been faced with the predicament of letting a guy down. Of informing him that her feelings for him had cooled, quite considerably. And that she had a spark (of something) with his best friend. It would probably be best to leave Noah out of it for the time being, though. "Finn, I think it's very kind of you to drive me to school, especially on a day such as this."

"Any time," he replied smoothly, grinning at her. "I'm glad you remembered your back pack or you books would have been, like, all over my car."

Furrowing her brow, she regarded him in confusion. "Of course. Anyway Finn, as I was saying, it is kind of you but I don't mean for you to have any sort of allusions about where a ride might lead. I simply entered your vehicle as friend." The task didn't seem nearly completed but before she could continue to explain her non-romantic feelings for him, he interrupted.

"Wait? What?" He half turned towards her, eliciting a scream from her because, as he did so, the car turned a little too. Quickly righting himself and his station wagon, he repeated himself. "What? I mean, I know that things after the kiss didn't, well, go anywhere. But that was because of midterms, then you were out of town for most of winter break. I thought that when you got back we'd -"

Feeling more nauseous by the second, she clenched her hands into fists. "I'm sorry, Finn. I should've been upfront with you right away. Honestly, though, I wasn't sure what I felt. A lot of…things have transpired that I can't go into detail about right now. I just want you to know that I did like you, a lot."

The car came to a screeching halt in the school's parking lot, tossing Rachel (and the contents of her stomach) around a bit more than she would've liked. "But not anymore?"

He sounded so sad that Rachel almost felt herself capitulate and offer him some sort of false hope. But glancing out the window, she saw Puck, joking around with some of the other football players and she realized what she had to do. "No, Finn. I would like to be friends still…"

He nodded, then got out of the car. Right behind him, she hurried to keep pace with his long strides. "Yeah, maybe," was all he said before going inside the building.

Disappointed, she moved to also enter when a hand shot out to open the door. Looking to her left and up, she found Noah standing there, that expressionless mask she hated so much on his handsome face. "Well," she challenged him, puffing out her chest. "Are you going to open to door for me or should I let you go first? As they say, _ladies first_." It was meant to be a barb and she couldn't help but smile when his eyes narrowed.

With an exaggerated flourish, he swung the door open, allowing her to pass by him and into the halls. As she walked away from him, she sashayed her hips, not having to look behind to know that he hadn't taken his eyes off of her.

Grinning, she thought of Marcie Blaine, sweetly waiting by the phone for Bobby to call. Rachel wasn't going to be that girl.

Sometimes being sweet wasn't the best way to win the guy.


	3. A Pleasant Smell

_Author's Note: So that's three chapters in one night...and I would keep going but I have to get my beauty sleep (ha ha). Hopefully this story is moving along at a realistic pace and the characters seem like...well, like them. Sometimes stories just write themselves and, so far, this story is doing just that, which sort of worries me. Well, let me know what you think!_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_A Pleasant Smell_**

That afternoon the music room was abuzz as the members of New Directions came together again. Though many of them had initially fought against it, a bond had formed between the twelve of them and they actually, mostly, liked each other. The only two that often stood aloof from the others were Puck and Santana.

When Brittany went to stand by Noah, Rachel felt four sets of eyes (because, yes, Tina did have to tell Artie) turn towards her. Ignoring them, and the way that Brittany's hand rested on Noah's forearm, Rachel put all her energy into focusing on Mr. Schuester, who was outlining what Glee's rehearsal schedule would look like with regional's fast approaching. But, try as she might, she couldn't help but be fixated by how comfortable Brittany appeared, sitting next to Noah, a cheery smile in place on the other girl's face.

How could Noah fall for _her_? Rachel knew for a fact that the girl wasn't that bright. Once, when Rachel had been describing the plot of _West Side Story _to Finn (a movie which Finn had never even heard of, a fact which at once shocked and disgusted Rachel), Brittany had asked, "Why would sharks and jets fight each other? Sharks live in water and jets fly in the sky."

Gritting her teeth, Rachel chastised herself for jumping to conclusions. Just because Noah Puckerman had never before been friends with a girl (besides her, of course) didn't mean that his relationship with Brittany couldn't be a strictly platonic one.

She wasn't aware that Mr. Schuester was speaking to her until Mercedes jabbed her in the side with one very pointy elbow. "I'm sorry Mr. Schuester," she said, apologetically. "What was that?"

Curious that Rachel hadn't been paying attention, since the girl was usually very astute during Glee's rehearsals, he cocked his head to one side. "You okay?"

Blushing as she fell under the scrutiny of almost everyone in the room (including Puck), she assured him that she was.

"I asked everyone if they were up to rehearsing 'Don't Stop Believing' and everyone but you said yes."

Grinning sheepishly, she enthused, "Of course I want to rehearse it! It's the number that's going to bring us victory at regional's!"

The rest of New Directions cheered at her statement and quickly moved into place. In doing so, Rachel had to pass by Noah. Their eyes met for a half a second before she tore her gaze away.

_Concentrate, Rachel,_ she drilled herself.

Concentrating around Noah, though, was not going to be easy.

- - - - - -

"Friends," Finn kept repeating the next day. "She wants to be friends with me. That's it. Only friends."

Puck wasn't sure how much more of Finn's whining he could take. Plus, he didn't know what Rachel only wanting to be friends with Finn meant. He had stepped out of the way so that she could be with the other guy. Why, then, wasn't she with him? It infuriated him on one hand but also made him wonder… Snapping out of his thoughts, he heard Finn utter "Friends, only friends."

"Deal with it, man," Puck snarled, shutting his locker with a loud bang. "And quit being such a girl."

"I just don't get it," he muttered, trailing Puck down the hall. "I broke up with Quinn for her."

"No," Puck reminded him, rolling his eyes. "Quinn broke up with you because she caught you and Rachel kissing. Have you already forgotten about that?" Pursing his lips in annoyance, Puck entered Spanish class, Finn right behind him. "Dude, you don't have Spanish this period."

Glancing around, Finn realized where he was. "Right. You're right. About everything. I lost Rachel because of I couldn't decide who I wanted. But I want her and she doesn't want me now. What should I do?"

Finn had no idea the position he had put his friend in, the power he handed him with such a simple question. Puck could very well advise his friend to move on from Rachel but, with a sigh, he heard words of a very different nature exit his mouth. "If you want her, go after her."

As if that idea had never occurred to him, Finn grinned. "Thanks, man." Slapping Puck on the back, Finn left, not watching as Puck slid into his seat, a look of chagrin fixed on his face.

- - - - - -

She had passed by his locker at least six times that day, hoping that he might stop her and ask her if she meant to pester him with her presence, or something along those lines, anything that would alert her to him noticing her. Unfortunately, he didn't. Not even when she "accidentally" dropped her books all over the floor in front of him. One minute she had spilled the textbooks and the next, when she had very cautiously glanced out of the corner of her eye, he had been gone. And then she had had to pick all those books up by herself.

After school, she was preparing for the walk home when his hand (she knew it was his, she recognized his touch), latched onto her upper arm and dragged her to his truck. He practically threw her in, not aware of the blush spreading on her cheeks or the grin spreading across her lips as he did so.

"What's your deal?" he barked as he revved the engine.

Primly placing her hands in her lap, she acknowledged his question, keeping her strategy for winning him over in her mind. "To what are you referring?"

"You want to be just friends with Finn, you walk by my locker on the way to every class, which doesn't make sense because you have English with Ms. Smilansky third period which would take you the other way, and you're going to walk home on a freezing day wearing nothing but a little skirt!" His tirade left him feeling a little breathless (he had said it, after all, in one breath and one sentence).

Her smile grew as she took in his words. "Ah, Noah, I didn't know you cared so much. You know where my classes are? And I'm grateful that you don't want me to become an ice sculpture."

He had already started to pull out onto the road as she talked but he nearly put the brakes on several times in that short amount of time. "One, don't call me Noah. It's Puck, to you and everyone else. And, two, I don't care. I only know that you have English third period because I have History right next door at the same time. And if you froze to death, it would be no skin off my nose, but we need you for regional's or whatever."

Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, because it had only taken two days back at school for her to successfully discover that Noah wasn't over her, she forced herself to reply. "One, I'll call you Noah if I want to. And, two, I've never heard you speak so much before. And, uh, three, your truck smells like a dead rat." By the time she made that comment, they were already at her house and she hopped out before he could respond in anyway. With a bound, she was gone, giggling as she went into her home.

- - - - - -

The next morning, Noah was waiting for her in his truck, at 7:30, as she ran out of her house. Usually she left a bit earlier. His appearance there took her off guard but she played nonchalant, scooting onto the bench seat as if he always picked her up.

"You're late," he told her, his voice gruff.

As they pulled away from the curb, she couldn't help but notice that the cab of the truck smelled much more pleasant than it had the day before.


	4. Call Me

_Author's Note: I'm so grateful that people are taking the time to review this story! But I have a request - if you write that you love it or think it's great, might you tell me why? And if there's anything you think I can improve upon, let me know that too. Good feedback helps me to be a better writer (I hope). Thanks! :D_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Call Me_**

Telling Finn that she just wanted to be friends and walking by Noah's locker a number of times per day was getting her nowhere. In the back of her mind, she knew that her game plan was just that - a game. With a sigh, Rachel exited her house on the seventh morning since Noah had started picking her up. She entered the cab, prepared to not say a word, since they had fallen into the routine of being completely silent around each other during the rides. However, her brain wasn't silent as they made the short trip from her house to the school. Over and over she repeated the words she had first written in her journal then rehearsed that morning as she got ready for school.

They were in the parking lot when she began her speech. "Noah, I need to talk to you. I'm not sure if you've noticed -"

"Oh, I've noticed."

Frowning, she swiveled her head in his direction. Why he must he always cut her off? "You've noticed what?"

While leering at her, he jumped out of the cab of the truck. "C'mon Berry. Your desperation is obvious."

His reversion to the old Puck, the one who assumed (wrongly) that all women wanted him bothered her. "I am not desperate," she cried, rounding the tail end of the truck to corner him by his door. "I'm a woman who has -"

"You're a kid," he sneered, almost maliciously.

Holding her hands to her chest, in a defense posture, she tossed her head, causing her hair to fly through the air in an arc. "I am not a kid," she huffed, feeling an intense desire to shake him until his teeth rattled out of his head. "Just let me speak, alright?" Though he didn't say yes, his lack at any type of response gave her encouragement to continue. "I know that it probably appeared as if Finn was the one that I wanted. And he was. But, somehow, that changed." She dug her nails into the palm of her hands, hoping that she didn't stick her foot into her mouth as she had in the past. It was partly her ineffectiveness at relaying how she felt that had gotten them into the mess in the first place. If only he would understand - she was a novice when it came to love (not that she loved him but her feelings were in the same realm as love). "When I sat across from you in Denny's that day…" The speech died on her lips at the disbelief in his eyes. Abandoning the rehearsed, she took a chance and simply spoke the words that were in heart. "I like you, Noah. And I'm not going to sit by the phone waiting for you to call but I would like you to call."

A flicker of emotion seemed to pass across his face but it was gone as quickly as it had come. The mask once more slid down as a guard against whatever he might be feeling in his heart (if he was feeling anything at all). "I'm not going to call," was all he said, in bland tone, before shifting his body around hers.

Bottom lip trembling, Rachel struggled to keep her tears in check. _Not even one tear, _she told herself. But a minute later she realized that not one but two had trickled down her cheeks. Wiping them away, she steeled herself for the rest of the day, holding her chin high in an act of defiance that would show Noah that he had not damaged her spirit in the slightest.

- - - - - -

When Rachel entered the music room later that day, early for Glee rehearsal, Quinn and Artie were already there. It seemed odd that they would both be ahead of schedule (since often Quinn came careening into the room several minutes late). Her eyes glanced surreptitiously from Artie, who was plucking at his guitar, to Quinn, who was filing her nails while sitting at the piano bench. Taking a seat near Artie, but far enough away to avoid conversation, Rachel shuffled through the music sheets she always carried in her back pack. She questioned singing 'Bobby's Girl' during rehearsal that day, especially after Noah's treatment of her that morning. Tucking that particular song away, she lifted her head in time to see Quinn quickly avert her gaze. More curious than ever, Rachel stood, pacing until she stood halfway between Artie and Quinn. "What's going on here?"

Artie acknowledged her presence, as he hadn't done so when she had first come in, with a weird smile. "What do you mean?"

What _did_ she mean? All would seem to be perfectly normal but she had the sensation that something was off.

"Fine!" Quinn burst out. "Artie and I…are friends."

The announcement might not have been so shocking if it wasn't, well, so shocking. Rachel had never before seen Quinn even talk to Artie, or vice versa, so how could they be friends?

"Now, was that so hard?" Artie patronized Quinn. "Or are you about to have a mental breakdown at admitting that you think I'm such a great friend?"

Rising to her feet, Quinn glared at the wheelchair bound boy. "I never said you were a great friend."

"But I am a great friend to you," Artie replied, placing his guitar on it's stand. "Even though _you _aren't one to me." He turned his eyes to Rachel, who was slightly enjoying the dialogue between the two. "Seriously, she constantly criticizes my sense of fashion -"

"Sense of fashion?" Quinn exploded. "I criticized your wardrobe. You have no sense of fashion!"

"- and accused me of washing my hair once a week."

"Twice a week," Quinn clarified, crossing her arms over her chest.

Befuddled, and still somewhat amused, Rachel interrupted to ask, "When did this friendship form?"

Kicking at the floor with her sneaker, Quinn responded, "Right after Finn and I broke up. Broke up because _you_ were making out with him," she added, the words lacking the barb they might have in the past. "I heard someone playing the guitar and I just came in here -"

"And she started talking," Artie said, as if he was voicing a complaint. "She wouldn't stop. Just went on and on…and on. Now we're best friends."

"You wish," Quinn shot at him.

Giggling (for the first time that day forgetting about Noah), Rachel wrapped her arms around her stomach, picturing Quinn pouring her heart out to Artie. It was just plain funny.

"What are you laughing at?" Quinn directed her attention toward Rachel, drawing her lip up in an unappealing manner. "Artie and I aren't the only ones whohave an unlikely friendship. Don't think everyone hasn't seen Puck giving you rides to and from school." Rachel's laughter abruptly stopped, a gurgle exiting the back of her throat. "Or maybe you're _more_ than just unlikely friends."

Rachel scoffed, falling back on her acting skills, hoping that Quinn would think her presumption was absurd. "Noah and I -"

At the use of Puck's first name, a knowing glint shone in Quinn's brown eyes but before she could further torment the smaller girl about the information she thought she had, the other members of New Directions were filing into the room. Quinn cocked her head at Rachel, as if to say their conversation wasn't over, then crossed the room to stand near Finn.

Rubbing her lips together nervously, she let her eyes wander to Artie's. He smiled at her almost apologetically, his eyes conveying a sense of shame over Quinn's behavior. That he felt the need to communicate a "sorry" for the girl made Rachel wonder if Artie hadn't been lying when he stated his bff-ness with the Cheerio. Perhaps the two had found that there existed a genuine connection between them.

Picking Noah out of the crowd, she realized that stranger things had happened.

- - - - - -

After school, Rachel wasn't sure if she should expect Noah to drive her home again. The howling winds echoed inside the halls of the school, banging against the doors that led to the snowstorm outside. Pulling her coat tighter around her frame, she was about to embark on the treacherous journey when he appeared by her side.

"We'll have to run," he barked in her ear, giving her an order.

Though she hated being bossed around, the hectic weather outside made her inclined to agree with him. Nodding once to let him know that she was ready, she placed a hand on the door. As one, they pushed it open and raced across the snowy expanse where the front lawn had been. She was doing fine until a snowy muddy puddle appeared out of thin air in front of her, causing her to slip and fall backwards. Her head was dangerously close to hitting the icy ground when a jerk on her wrist (which hurt but not as much as her head impacting with the ground would have) prevented her from gaining a concussion. Still, she was a bit dazed.

Noah bent over, not even bothering to hide the concern in his eyes. "Rachel? You okay?"

Attempting a smile (she was sure she looked like a ghoul), she told him she was fine, allowing him to help her stand. When she was steady on her feet, they continued to the truck. Once there, he helped her in, his hands gently guiding her to the seat. As soon as he had gotten in the driver's side, he pulled a blanket out from behind the seats and spread it over her lap. Shivering, teeth chattering, and mulling over Noah's actions, Rachel said not one word as he sped her home. They arrived too soon and disappointment welled in her chest. She longed to thank him for his kindness but couldn't quite form the words. When he jumped out of the vehicle to approach the passenger's side, her surprise doubled. Her hand, gloveless, on what was possibly the coldest day in Ohio history, slipped into his, the calluses on his fingers rubbing against her knuckles. He helped her up the steps and to her door, managing to keep his gaze on anything but her. Poising herself to give him some sort of speech (it was what she was best at, after singing and dancing), she inhaled a deep breath.

But he spoke before she could. "Take care of yourself, Berry. I mean, stay warm." He still wasn't looking at her and he didn't look back as turned to take his leave. Then, over his shoulder, he said, "And, uh, I don't have your number."

Elated, and suddenly full of an indescribable warmth, Rachel tightly gripped the strap of her back pack.

He would call her.

All she had to do was give him her number and then he would call.

Hopefully.

_Author's Note: I hope that Artie seemed IC...after Vitamin D and his comment about smacking the girls down like the hand of God, I feel he has some snark. And, yeah, I'm a Quinn/Artie shipper so I wanted to include something between them - an unlikely friendship. I'd like to see that on the show but probably never will._


	5. Going Insane

_Author's Note: I made some adjustments to previous chapters...nothing major just glaring errors I had to correct. Just thought I'd let my reading audience know. :) As requested, a Puck POV chapter._

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Going Insane_**

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Each thud was a distraction meant to keep his thoughts from returning to Rachel Berry. What kind of spell did the midget have over him anyway?

"Noah Puckerman!" screamed his mom from elsewhere in the house. "Quit throwing that baseball against the wall or there will be consequences!"

He promptly dropped the ball to the floor, because his mom's 'consequences' usually constituted of him sitting on the couch while she lectured. Inevitably, his dad's name would come, she would start to cry, then he would move to comfort her. He hated when she cried.

Sighing, he racked his brain for something else, anything else, that would turn his thoughts away from _her_. The fluttering of paper on his desk reminded him he had a lot of Spanish homework but he quickly dismissed that idea, turning his game console on instead. He was part way through one level of Resident Evil when he paused, his hand itching to hurl the controller across his room.

Did that zombie chick look like Rachel? If he squinted?

Quickly shutting the stupid thing off, he threw himself back on his bed, cursing the day Mr. Schue had asked Rachel to help him. Like he had really needed the help. He had been the best male singer in the group. Besides Finn, Artie and Kurt. Well, _now_ he was the best male singer in the group.

All because of Rachel.

Standing abruptly, he grabbed his jacket, feeling the desperate need to get out of the house.

Being alone meant all he could think about was Rachel and he was starting to slowly go insane.

- - - - - - -

Sitting in the small coffee shop on the outskirts of town, Puck drowned out Brittany's yapping as he observed the other customers in the establishment. One couple especially drew his eye.

The girl of the pair was petite, with wide round eyes and hands that helped to animate whatever she was rapidly saying. The guy was wearing a leather jacket and was sitting in his chair like he didn't have a care in the world, like he was barely paying attention to his girlfriend's story. They reminded him of two other people he knew…

…two people who had sat in Denny's, she sipping an ice tea, he chowing down on a cheeseburger and fries. Occasionally, she would reach over to steal one of his fries without asking but he didn't mind. He had been slouched in his seat as she droned on about her granny's favorite movie and the place her Uncle Lars stowed his 'just in case' money. She had probably thought he wasn't really listening but he had absorbed every word.

That's how he knew that tough guy heard every syllable his girl uttered.

"Puck, are you even listening?" Brittany sniveled.

"Yeah," he muttered, even though he wasn't.

- - - - - -

"What do you think?"

Puck stared down at the lyrics Finn had written out by hand on a wrinkled piece of paper. "You didn't write this. This is a One Republic song."

"Yeah," Finn said, eyes shining as he eagerly took the paper back. "It came on the radio last night and I thought it fit Rachel and me perfectly. I looked the lyrics up online and wrote them down. I think I should sing it to her."

Though Puck wasn't the biggest One Republic fan, he had to admit the words in this song were fitting. But not for Finn and Rachel. Gritting his teeth, he attempted a bright smile.

Bright, shining, plastic, fake.

"She'll be your girl before you're finished singing." He didn't really understand why he would offer any sort of encouragement to his friend, considering that Rachel had told Puck that she liked _him_ (though he still had a hard time believing she liked him more than Finn, the hope in her eyes had left him with a hope in his soul).

"No, no…" Dropping his head into his hands, Finn pushed his half eaten lunch away from him. "I have to find a different song."

Snatching the page full of lyrics and stuffing it in the pocket of his jeans, Puck said adios, watching as a disheartened Finn went to find another song.

"What's up with him?" asked Mike, dropping on the bench beside Puck.

"Yeah, man," said Matt. "He's been acting all, I don't know, _whipped_ lately."

Mike took a huge bite of the meatloaf on his plate then, with a mouth full of food, commented, "Whipped by Rachel Berry! She's not even his girlfriend!"

His appetite completely gone, Puck made an excuse, not wanting to hear their idiotic discussion about Rachel and Finn. He sought solace in the music room, plucking his guitar from it's case and strumming out a few chords. Taking the paper out of his pocket, he stared at the words, knowing that he would have to find the music that accompanied the lyrics. One day, he might play the song.

Not to Rachel though.

_Never_ to her.

- - - - - -

At 4:15 pm, Puck was lounging in his truck, waiting for Rachel to show up. When he had left the music room she had been in the middle of a conversation with Mercedes, Tina and Kurt. That had been fifteen minutes ago and he was growing impatient.

_Finally _she came, shutting the door so hard that it shook the truck.

"Easy," he murmured. "Don't break my truck."

Raising both eyebrows, she said, "By the look of this vehicle, it's been through a lot worse. I'm sure one slammed door won't do it any harm."

"Nice that you think so little of me- uh, my truck." Wincing at the wrong use of words, he backed his truck out of the parking space, pulling easily out onto the street. He wondered if she had noticed his not so subtle mistake of words.

"Noah," she began, alerting him that she _had _heard the insertion of 'me' into his sentence. "I…I want you to know that I like your truck. I really like your truck. A little wear and tear doesn't mean anything. It adds…character. And I feel very safe in your truck. Safer than I feel in other vehicles."

Though she had taken the analogy a bit too far, he couldn't help but grin. She was such a weird girl. "I like my truck too," he grunted. He was tempted to add, "Especially when you're in it," but bit his tongue to hold back.

By that time they had come to her house, but she didn't make a move. She was studying her hands very carefully, turning them over in her lap.

"Are you going to leave or what?" he grunted, not really minding if she stayed. She wasn't bad to look at and she smelled really good and he… Grinding his teeth together, he chastised himself. She might be hot and smell like laundry fresh out of the dryer but he did _not_ like her.

"I just was wondering if you are dating Brittany?"

The tremble in her voice caused his heart to pick up speed. He didn't want to hurt her but, at the same time, he did want to hurt her. "We hang out," he replied, smirking at her and waggling both his eyebrows, implying a lot with the three short words.

Appalled, she opened the door, practically falling out of the truck in her haste to get away from him.

"Why are you so pissed off? It's not like we're together or anything." The lazy way the words rolled off his tongue only further agitated her.

"I've been transparent in my feelings for you and all you can do is throw those feelings back in my face. One day, when you realize what a jerk you're being and you decide you're ready to be with me, you'll find I won't be there. I'm not going to wait forever." This time when she slammed to door shut, the truck rattled more than it had before.

Gulping back his emotions, he watched her retreating form march into the house. Slowly his eyes drifted to the seat where her cell number, scrawled in loopy print, was written on a slip of paper.

A bittersweet smile on his face, he placed the scrap in his pocket, where it rested next to the lyrics of the song he had taken from Finn.

Maybe he should call her tonight.

But what about Finn? The poor sap was not over Rachel and those two just belonged together, didn't they?

It didn't matter that he, Puck, _did_ like her.

Yeah, he liked her. He was finally ready to admit it to himself again.

She had told him she wouldn't wait forever and if he didn't act soon, he knew he would lose her and she would probably wind up starting something anew with Finn.

But that's the way it should be.

Right?


	6. Myspace and Jam Sessions

_Author's Note: I'm trying so hard not to rush the Puck/Rachel relationship. I feel like this chapter does, a little. Ugh. I'm never satisfied with my writing! Anyway...after that small rant, please read and review! Thanks! :)_

_Oh, right, and I do not own the rights to the song "All We Are." Someone else does._

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Myspace and Jam Sessions_**

Licking his lips, Puck stared at Rachel's handwriting on the small scrap of paper, which had obviously been ripped off a larger sheet of binder paper.

Slowly, he brought his phone up, hesitated, then pressed in some numbers. After several rings, the person on the other end answered. "Hey man, you said…you said we could jam anytime. Yeah, I was thinking tomorrow after school. You said you had a bunch of music and stuff. Do you have 'All We Are'? Cool. Bring it with you. Nah, I don't really like 'em…just that song… What? There's no girl! Don't be a loser about this, got it Abrams? Just be there, okay?" Incensed, mostly at himself for not calling Rachel and for deciding to learn the song, he growled into the open space of his room.

Why did Rachel Berry have to be so…intoxicating?

If he didn't like her so much, he would've hated her.

- - - - - -

Perhaps she was delusional.

Yes, she must be. She had actually thought that Noah might call her, after she had left her number on the seat.

Foolish girl, suffering from delusions of grandeur.

Taking a cautious sip of her tea, she cleared her throat then looked into the camera she had set up in her room. It had been a long, long time since she had posted a video to Myspace but that night she needed the release of singing in front of no one, singing to a boy who wasn't in the room, then posting it for various strangers (and now a few friends, she reminded herself) to view.

With all her heart she belted out 'Bobby's Girl,' the bubblegum pop song of old turning into a haunting melody under the power of her voice. After the last line of the original lyrics had been sung, she hummed a little, then added "I'm won't sit at home forever Bobby."

After shutting the camera off and loading the video on Myspace, she lay on her bed, eyes glued to the ceiling of her room. She wondered what Noah was doing at that moment.

A flash of him "hanging out" with Brittany entered her brain. Covering her eyes with her hands didn't help because the vision was taking place in her mind. Groaning, she grasped her cell phone, checking for missed calls.

None.

Yes, she was suffering from delusions of grandeur.

- - - - - -

"You want me to what?" Artie asked, not sure if he had heard Quinn correctly.

Rolling her eyes at him, she slowed her words down, talking to him as if he was a child. "I want you to talk to Puck about Rachel. Last night, she uploaded a new video on Myspace and I have a feeling he's Bobby from the song she was singing."

Knowing the situation much better than Quinn, since Tina had filled him in on every detail, Artie looked away uncomfortably. "I can't get involved like that Quinn. Getting involved in other people's love lives…it's not me." Scrunching his face, he moved his eyes her way again. "And why do you care anyway?"

If it had been anyone else, Quinn would've lied, but Artie had become a good friend to her in the last month in a half. "After Finn and I broke up, Rachel apologized to me. She was _nice_. If she had been Finn's girlfriend and I had been the one kissing him, causing their break up, I would have tormented her forever."

Nodding, Artie signaled that he completely understood. "You want to be Rachel's friend?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she added, "Plus, this whole Puck Rachel thing is interesting. I have to know what's going on."

There was the Quinn he had come to know and love (woah, woah, woah - not _that_ kind of love). With a low chuckle, he assured her that he'd do everything in his power to find out if Puck felt anything for Rachel.

- - - - - -

It wasn't hard to get the hang of the song and soon Puck was strumming his guitar, singing the words from his gut (or his heart, whatever).

Artie regarded him silently, coolly, and Puck had no idea what the other boy was thinking. After several seconds of Puck playing, Artie joined him, the electric guitar blending with the acoustic guitar, creating a sound that wasn't half bad. They played the song a couple of times, each time better than the last. "It's nice playing with you," Artie commented, his voice plain.

"Yeah," Puck responded, plucking randomly at the chords. "I was thinking of asking Mr. Schue if I might sing this song at a rehearsal."

If Artie grinned, Puck didn't notice. "Are you sure that you don't have anyone in mind when you're singing it?"

Biting down hard on the side of his cheek, Puck thought of Rachel. Anyone with eyes could see that he dropped her off at school and drove her home everyday. Yet no one seemed even the slightest bit suspicious that something might be going on between them. "Nah. Not yet."

"Huh." Artie ran his fingers down the chords on his guitar. "Did you see Rachel's most recent Myspace video?"

Why did Artie have to bring _her _up? Unless he was suspicious... Puck pushed the thought out of his mind. "Why would I check out that freak's Myspace page?" Truthfully, he had been to the page too many times in the last months to count. He practically had her 'About Me' section memorized and he had watched each one of her videos numerous times. He wasn't aware, however, that she had uploaded a new one.

"Rachel's not a freak!" Artie defended the girl, which automatically made Puck like him more. "She's one of us."

Snorting, Puck said, "Yeah, I _am _one of you now. A gleek. Who knew it would ever happen?"

"Not me," answered Artie, though the question had been rhetoric. Glancing at the boy who had once locked him in port-a-potties, then pushed the portable bathrooms over, he decided to take a chance. "You and Rachel -"

"There is no me and Rachel," Puck spat out, angrily. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," murmured Artie, fearful that things might get out of hand. He sincerely hoped Quinn was stationed outside of the room eavesdropping, ready to come to his aid should he need it. "You pick her up, drop her off. You guys are constantly trying not to look at each other…and…"

"And?" Puck stood over Artie, a very menacing figure.

"Rachel told us everything," he said, quickly.

"Us?" Puck echoed, backing off and swallowing, his Adam's Apple bobbing.

"Me, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt." His voice sounded small to his own ears. He was nervous about Puck's reaction but he didn't think the football player had it in his mind to pound him into a spot on the floor.

"I, uh, have to...be somewhere else."

Artie watched in amusement as the jock almost tripped out the door, leaving his guitar behind. As soon as he was gone, Quinn strode in, one slim eyebrow arched. She stalked across the room and, suddenly, Artie's fears of being pounded were alive again. "Quinn, I, uh…"

"You _knew_? And you didn't say anything?"

"There was a certain amount of trust, from Rachel to those she shared the story with." Okay, so he had gotten the information from Tina secondhand but he didn't think that telling Quinn that was relevant at the moment.

Softening, Quinn slouched a little. "Fine. I guess that means you'll keep all my secrets bottled up too."

A half grin mocked her. "You can only wonder and hope."

Her hand clenched into a fist, and he was certain she would punch him, when Rachel walked in.

"Have either one of you seen Noah? He was supposed to drive me home ten minutes ago and I _would_ walk but it looks as if another storm is brewing."

"Oh, well," Artie muttered. "He left. But his guitar's here so he's probably still on school grounds."

With a disgruntled sigh, Rachel left both Quinn and Artie to discuss whatever was transpiring between the two opposites.

- - - - - -

Sitting at one of the few computers in the library (they'd had to get rid of many due to the strained economy and budget cuts), Puck sat, awash in the light of the screen, ear buds in place, as he listened to and watched Rachel sing a song he had never heard before. When she sang, man, was she beautiful.

Well, she was always beautiful but never so much as when she sang.

A muscle in his jaw twitched as Rachel finished her solo with a line that spoke directly to him. It was then that he decided.

Screw Finn. Screw the fear of getting hurt again.

Screw everything.

He wanted Rachel and he wasn't going to be an idiot about it any longer.

With a determined gait, he headed out of the library, his heart burning in his chest. If he didn't find her soon, he would lose his nerve and wimp out. And then, like something out of some cheesy romantic chick flick, he saw her, standing at end of the hall. He noticed the mild amount of fury in her eyes but she had been looking at him like that all day. Closing the distance between them, drawing nearer and nearer to her, he struggled not to break into a jog. Once he reached her, he cupped the back of her head with his hand and brought her lips crashing to his. A jolt of electricity ran through his body as he was reminded of the last time they had kissed. He had made out with a lot of girls but none of them had ever caused his palms to sweat, his heart to beat so rapidly, his head to spin in circles...

He had a feeling that her kisses were so amazing to him because it was _her_.

The vibrating of his phone in his pocket ruined the reunion of their mouths but, still, he separated. He had to. As he pulled away, she groaned. Glancing at the small screen, he saw that he had just received a text. "Rachel…" When he ventured to look at her, he saw that she was pouting. "I gotta go. Brittany just texted me and...I gotta go."

"Brittany!" The mild amount of fury from before became a whole storm. "Brittany, really?"

"Can you get a ride home from Quinn or something?" he asked, his eyes hard as flint as he attempted to shield his inward roiling emotions from her.

Her lips parted in order to make a response but he was gone, racing down the hall, before she could. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Noah Puckerman had left her alone, again.

She really wished she could hate him.

And she probably would have, if she didn't like him so much.


	7. Confessional

_Author's Note: First of all, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing this story, adding it to favorites, or putting it on alert. I've never had any of my story be put on alert by so many people! So a big thanks! Secondly, I'd call this a filler chapter but I really wanted to write it...so I hope you like it, despite the fact that the plot doesn't really move ahead too much. I still think it's important, as I address the big question of "WHY?" Why do they like each other, really? Don't forget to review...it's so easy! Your opinions mean a lot to me! :)_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Confessional_**

Pushing his foot against the gas pedal Puck couldn't, despite the circumstances, stop himself from thinking about Rachel. The flash of pain on her face as he had run away popped up in his head. He wished he'd explained everything to her earlier but he'd been bound by his own stupid pride. Now she was left thinking something that wasn't true was true. His heart felt like it was being squeezed in his chest as ponderings on life and loss floated around his brain. Before he could be consumed by grief, over everything that was happening, he shut his mind off, focusing on the drive.

Just a few more miles, a few more.

He could deal with Rachel later, tell her everything.

If she let him.

- - - - - -

Rachel remembered when she'd been a strong independent woman, not caring about whether or not she'd had a boyfriend.

_Yeah, right, _her conscience taunted her. _You've always cared about it, you've just have never been embroiled in any romantic entanglements until this year._

Sighing, Rachel fell dramatically to the seat in front of her mirror and gave herself a good long stare. She frowned at the sadness in her eyes, wondering how she'd ever let Puck - Noah Puckerman, for goodness sake! - wander into her heart and trash that meticulously arranged area. Not even Finn, with all his indecisiveness and soulful eyes and promises to her that what he felt for her was real, even while going out with Quinn, had been able to disturb the contents of her heart this much.

Why? What was it about Noah that made her care so much?

He was very good looking, that much was true. But her feelings ran so much deeper.

It was the way he bit the inside of his cheek when he wasn't sure how to answer a question, the way his left cheek indented and his lips quirked to the side as he did so. It was the way he smiled at Glee rehearsals when they had done well, a smile that reached his eyes and revealed that he really did like the club he had once claimed was only for losers. It was the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking (and sometimes even when he knew she was), a fire lighted in his brown orbs and a type of affection there that she knew no one else had felt for her (at least not in _that_ way).

The way his callused fingers brushed over the back of her hand, causing shivers to race up her spine, seeing which could reach her neck first and make the fine hairs there stand on end. The way he played guitar, lovely fingers dancing across the chords to create melodies that came from a place deep inside of him, a place that not many knew existed within him. The way his whole face had softened when he told her he liked her, that one and only time, making her want to melt into his arms.

She had destroyed that moment, chasing away that expression, with her careless words. Could she have expected him to be anything but hurt?

Of course not. Still, she had more than made up for her glaring blunder by her words since but Noah - Noah was still Puck.

Rejecting her for another girl.

_Keep a stiff upper lip,_ she told herself.

It was no use, however, and soon both lips were drooping to form a frown.

"I can't stop liking him," she confessed to herself. "But I'm going to end this charade right now."

And without any delay, she marched to her cell phone. In a minute, someone on the other end picked up.

"Can you pick me up tomorrow morning? That's great. Thank you so much. Be here at 7? Yes, I know that's early but…please? You're the greatest!" With a satisfying click, she ended the call, trying to smile but finding it just wasn't worth the effort.

- - - - - -

Laying on his bed, Puck listened to the other people in his house, hating that they were there but knowing that his mom needed them.

Every freaking one of them.

As long as they stayed out of his room, especially his two ten year old twin cousins, Frederick and Benjamin, he would be able to make it through the hectic ordeal.

Flipping over, Puck thought of Rachel. Like that was anything new. He was constantly thinking about her.

Part of him wanted to call her, tell her he needed her and ask her to come over. Or maybe he could pick her up and they could drive to the point and just sit.

Running a hand over his face, he realized he was tired, had been tired for a long time and the complicated situation with Rachel didn't help matters any. A short nap might've been nice but he had a feeling that just as he began to doze his mom, or, worse, Fred and Ben, would come barging in. Sitting up, he stared at himself in the small mirror that hung across from his bed. He studied his face in it, trying out different expressions until he settled into his usual "whatever" face, as his mom called it.

"She's never going to let me tell her what happened," he told himself. "But I can't do nothing. Gotta do something."

He had to do something because he cared. Cared too much, cared more than he ever had for a girl.

And not just because she attracted him like a fly to one of those bug zapper thingys (and how he hoped that being with her wouldn't have that kind of effect, though part of him believed it very well would and he might even like it).

It was the way she smiled crookedly when explaining something that no one else understood, such as the importance of show tunes or why jazz hands didn't really enhance a performance. It was the way she held her chin up high in a show of defiance when she was upset about something, the higher her chin, the more upset she was. It was the way her eyes had betrayed sadness and, at the same time, passion when she had sang that ridiculously old song about some guy named Bobby (and by 'Bobby' he knew she meant Noah).

The way she said his name, in a breathy voice, in a way that conveyed she was willing to forget the Puck he had been, the Puck everyone else saw, and embrace the Noah within. The way she fit so snugly in his arms as they danced, a memory that made him long to hold her in his arms like that once again. The way her bottom lip had trembled when he had mentioned hanging out with Brittany just because he wanted to hurt her as much as she had hurt him.

_I'm such an idiot,_ he thought.

He should've just laid it all out (fear, failure, and Finn) before her on the football field, exposing himself to her in a way that he never had to anyone.

Should've.

A should've of the past, though, couldn't change the present.

Grasping his guitar, he made up his mind.

Glaring at himself in his mirror, he confessed, "She makes me feel like no other girl has. That's why I'm going to do whatever it takes, whatever it takes."

Even as the words fell from his lips, he wasn't sure if he would actually follow through.

He wasn't as brave as he often pretended to be.


	8. Confrontations

_Author's Note: I revamped the ending of this chapter so if you already read this, you may want to read that section, as it's very different. I was so unhappy with how I wrote Finn's reaction but now I'm much more satisfied. Hope you as my readers are too! And please, when you leave a review, try to write more than two or three words. Your input is important to me and helps me to become a better author. Thanks!_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Confrontations_**

The next morning, as Puck awoke, a vision of his dad, leaving him behind, that giggling red-headed floozy on his arm, popped into his head. A sharp jab in his heart was quickly dismissed as he leapt from his bed and trudged to the shower. A hum from the kitchen made him pause and, with only a minute of indecision, he headed into the room with the yellow walls, finding his mother, chin supported by her hand, her elbow teetering on the green tabletop.

"Morning mom," he said gently, giving her a slight kiss on the forehead.

She murmured something in response, half asleep, and he wondered how late she had stayed up with his Aunt Becky. Turning on his heel, leaving his mom to fade in and out of consciousness a little longer (promising himself he'd wake her before he went to school), he went to take his shower.

While the water streamed over him, he sang the song that always brought Rachel to mind.

_You changed my philosophy _were the lyrics, something he could relate to.

Yeah, Rachel Berry was doing that and he actually didn't mind.

- - - - - -

The radio on the car ride to school was tuned to a station that played mostly popular hits and, that being the case, Rachel couldn't help but find, as she walked the school halls at 7:15 in the morning, that one certain song was stuck in her head.

"We won't say our goodbyes…" she sang softly as she wandered the almost empty school. She paused when she came to her locker, frowning when she found a note taped to the front of it. Delicately removing the folded white paper, she opened and skimmed the words inside.

A tight grimace pulled at her lips as she refolded the note and made a place for it inside of one of her outrageously pink folders. With a soft sigh, she deposited her books then went to find a study space in the library where she could concentrate on the novel she was attempting to get through, though it was hard with Glee rehearsals and Noah Puckerman's romantic non-advances.

- - - - - -

The note had requested that Rachel meet him (yes, the note had been from a _him_) in the middle of lunch period. For what reason, she had yet to discover though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. What if…? Her mind played with the possibilities but all she could think about was Noah.

Puck.

Whoever he was to her.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, surprising her. She didn't need to glance at the face of the one intruding upon her introspection for she knew it was him.

Noah-Puck-Whoever.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice at once polite and icy.

"Rachel…" he began, an unsteady tremor in his voice stirring within her the desire to meet his eyes. But she knew she had to resist, no matter how hard it might be. "You weren't there this morning. I waited for a half an hour."

Pursing her lips, she finally met his eyes. "Why would you do that? That means you were probably late to school."

"I was," he told her, dropping his hand away from her shoulder, an act which produced relief in her, and rubbing it against the skin on his skull. "But I don't care. Rachel, can I just-"

"No," she cut him off, backing away from him, desperately trying to keep her pain bottled inside. "There's nothing to say. And don't worry about giving me rides to and from school anymore. Not that _you _would ever worry. Kurt has generously accepted my offer to let him transport me from home to school and vice versa. It's a win-win, you know," she went on, the abundance of words making it very difficult for him to respond in any way. "He educates me on fashion while I share my valuable expertise on show choir with him." Just as she finished talking, she rounded a corner, stopping to lean against the wall and breathe. Half of her wanted him to come after her but he didn't. She should've learned not to place high expectations, or even mediocre ones, on him at this point. But she had really wanted…

It didn't matter what she wanted because she was never going to get it.

Reminding herself that she had somewhere to be, she put all visions of Noah Puckerman out of her head and tread the school halls, her destination the spot selected by the author of the note.

- - - - - - -

Standing alone in the middle of the music room was where she found him. She had known it was him who left the note, though he had neglected to sign his name to it. Entering quietly, she whispered his name into the silence, so as not to startle him.

"Finn?"

Spinning around, he flashed an innocent, lopsided smile at her. "Hey Rach," he enthused, his light brown eyes illuminating.

Why did he always have to look at her like that?

"I'm glad you came," he went on, his long legs helping him to cross the room in less than four steps. "I really need to talk to you."

She knew what he wanted to say but she mustn't let him. Opening her mouth, ready to present him with a similar speech to the one she had given to him approximately two weeks beforehand, she started to speak, when he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Please Rach, let me just say what I need to." When she nodded, letting him know that she would stay silent, even though she hated to do so, he continued. "I think this whole thing has been dumb from the beginning. No, wait, not dumb I mean. I mean…I practiced this but things never come out of my mouth the way I want them to." She had to suppress a giggle at his awkwardness. That awkwardness was one of the things that had initially drawn her to him and, even though she only viewed him as friend now, she still loved it about him. "Okay. Let me start over. You and I have been…complicated, from when I first joined Glee. I had Quinn and you had…well, you liked me. And I liked you too but there was Quinn... Anyway, Quinn and I are broken up now and I just think that… I still kind of like you. What if I could like you a lot more? I tried thinking of a song that might, you know, represent _us_ but I-"

"Finn," she interrupted his ramblings, adorable as they were. "It sounds as if you're still not sure about us. But that makes sense because I believe the feelings we had for each other were more crush than life altering epic love." Placing a hand on his arm, and noting that the slight touch, which once would've produced a major heart hiccup within her, did nothing, she said, softly, "I'm truly sorry, Finn, to disappoint you once more but I don't think that starting a relationship with you is the wisest course of action. Plus," she went on, her voice lowering subconsciously. "I like someone else."

Had he really liked her the words would've been a crushing blow but he merely blinked (and she took it as a sign), then asked, "Who do you like?"

"I meant to say liked," she amended. "Liked, as in liked, but not anymore." Finn was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind, which maybe she had. If she had been Noah, she would've thought 'Ah, screw it,' but she wasn't him and her inward monologue pressured her to admit, 'Fine, I do like him.' "Promise not to get mad?" she said, injecting enough sweetness into her tone to, hopefully, placate him.

"Why would I get mad?"

Without hesitating, not even bothering to offer an explanation, she burst out. "It's Noah. I like Noah."

That should've elicited some response from him but, instead, he just cocked his head to one side, scratching at his scalp. "Who?"

Eyelids fluttering, it occurred to her that Finn rarely addressed Noah by his given name. "Noah…Puckerman."

This time, he understood full well. "Puck? You like Puck?" At first he appeared stunned but then, then he began to laugh. Clutching his stomach, after a round of raucous chuckling, he eyed her. "You're serious."

She nodded sharply, the barest hint of a pout on her face. "Is it so hard to bel-"

"Yeah, Rach, it is. You and Puck?" His expression changed from amused to blank to angry in a matter of seconds. "How could you… When did you… How did this…?" Frazzled, the tall boy looked at her, helplessly, before spinning around. She thought he was going to leave but, instead, he dragged a chair over and sat down in front of her. Feeling odd, towering over him for a change, Rachel selected her own chair and faced him, noting the weariness behind his eyes.

"Finn-"

"No, don't," he said, ending whatever it was she was going to say. "There's no need to say anything. I was…not quick to do anything. I liked you, liked Quinn. Rach, I just…I screwed up." On impulse, he reached out to grasp her hands in his, his eyes asking the question before his mouth could. "Do you think-"

"No," she said quickly, not even pausing long enough to allow him to finish, hating that she had been wrong about the 'sign.' Though it pained her to see the sadness in her eyes, she knew that an ambiguous answer may lead to heartache in the future. "Finn, you and I shared moments together that I will never forget but I-"

"Save the speech." Rising from his chair, Finn looked down upon her, his face hovering. "Just go be with Puck. What I don't get is why you aren't together, if you like him so much."

All the anger that had been welling inside of her came to the surface. "Noah has a thing with Brittany," she practically shouted, immediately covering her mouth with her hand afterwards.

"What?" Finn studied her for a minute before slowly shaking his head. "You like a guy who is playing you Rach. Is that what you want?"

Not understanding his words, she stood up, eyeing him curiously. "How is he playing me?"

After making a soft clicking noise with his tongue, he replied, "Brit is his…sort of cousin. They're like related through marriage. His aunt's ex husband, on his mom's side, married her aunt. But her family always goes to his family things. Puck let you believe something else was happening, didn't he?" Grasping her by the shoulders, Finn stared at her until she lifted her eyes to his, a range of emotions dancing behind her wide round orbs. "I would never do that to you Rach. Never."

Wrenching herself free from his grasp, she muttered, "You already did, with Quinn." It appeared as if a rebuff was on his tongue but she didn't want to hear it. "I have to…to leave." Without a backward glance, she ran out of the classroom, the sound of her feet hitting the linoleum echoing in her head and giving her a headache.

Just as she was about to enter the bathroom, Noah materialized before him. She wanted to pound her fists against his chest until he apologized for letting her believe something about Brittany that wasn't true but she also wanted to throw herself into his arms and kiss him.

Slipping his arm around her waist (an action which caused her heart to palpitate crazily), which meant that she couldn't escape, he growled, in a way that was not in any way malicious, "We have to talk. Now."

"But…classes…" she whimpered, not moving a muscle to extricate herself from his hold. To be completely honest, she didn't mind being pressed against the broad expanse of his chest. She didn't even mind that everyone in the hallway was gawking at them with bug eyes.

"Skip 'em."

Again, he was daring to demand that she follow his orders, like the day they had charged out into the storm. She was half inclined to deny him and refuse to speak with him at all but she never had a chance to utter those words because he was dragging her down the hall, out the door. The chilly air went straight through her clothes and she found herself at upset with Noah for not even considering-

Her mind became blank, the thoughts dying away, as Noah wrapped his jacket around her petite frame. A look of wonder crossed her face as she gazed up at him, her outrage coming to a simmer, instead of the roiling boil it had been.

When he opened the door of his truck for her, she entered without a fight, sliding onto the seat and buckling the belt.

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she sighed, not sure what he wanted to say but finally ready to hear it.

Ready to venture forth and take a risk_, _no matter what that might mean.


	9. Waking Dream

_Author's Note: This has been my favorite chapter to write so far. I hope you all like it. And I'm going to make a request to all who are adding this story to favorites and/or placing it on alert and not reviewing: might you review, please? Because I would love to know your thoughts on the direction of this story, the foibles of this story, what you like, etc. Thanks! And if you don't review but still read...well, thanks to you too for taking the time to read. :)_

_PS - I changed the ending to chapter 8, so if you haven't read that, please do! This will make more sense if you do!_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Waking Dream_**

Puck drove, pedal to the metal, as his dad used to say, not exaclty sure where he was going. The girl currently sitting in the passenger seat had yet to say anything but he wasn't worried.

Not worried at all that she might throw whatever he might say back in his face and abandon him, just like others in his life had.

Cursing at himself for being such a freaking head case, he rounded a corner a little too fast, eliciting a cry from Rachel. Feeling bad, he slowed down just as he realized where he wanted to go. Several minutes later, he came to a screeching halt at the Point.

The Point, where most kids went when they wanted to make out. Being here would most likely make Rachel squirm.

A devilish grin crept across his face before he mentally slapped himself. Rachel was already pissed enough at him and his antics, no matter funny they might be, only made things worse. They sat in complete silence for an eternity before Puck realized he would have to be the one to break the ice (and it literally felt like he might need an ice pick to break up what was between them).

"Rachel…I…"

Clasping her hands in her lap, Rachel waited for him to go on but he didn't. Swallowing, she gazed out the windshield, knowing where they were and curious as to why he picked this spot. Did he think that she would forgive and then immediately go at it with him?

Well, maybe… Especially if he said her name the way he always did, with a little hitch in his voice on the last syllable that nearly sent her into a frenzy.

No…no, she could not let him effect her like this.

"Rachel," Puck said, again, trying the quell the nervousness rising in his chest. _Quit being a girl and just spit it out,_ he yelled at himself inwardly. "Brittany and I aren't-"

"I know," she interrupted, wringing her hands in her lap. "I…talked to Finn and he told me. Why couldn't _you _tell me?"

Pursing his lips, he tried to think of the most delicate answer, because he did care about her feelings. He cared about her. He really was a girl. "Because…I was an idiot. Am. Am an idiot." His eyes twitched a little as he turned them in her direction.

All she did was raise an eyebrow. "I'm not going to disagree with you."

Licking his lips, he went on, shoving his pride to a place deep inside of him. "I lied to you because of your thing with Finn. I know you made it clear that you were over him but I still felt that…that it was impossible…" He felt his will dissolving and suddenly he was just a kid again, begging his dad to stay. He was himself, the previous day, standing in a room with all his relatives, a sobbing Brittany clinging to the front of his shirt, around a bed that contained a body that was just a shell.

Rachel sensed that something was wrong. Her belief was confirmed when her eyes traveled to Noah's scrunched up face. It was then that she realized that though there was a spark between her and the young man sitting next to her, she didn't know many of the details of his life. "Noah…what happened? Why did you flee - I mean, leave yesterday?"

The emotions were too raw, the events too recent for him to discuss. But if he wanted a future with Rachel, he just might have to tell her, even if he started to cry in the process. Not that he would cry. He _didn't_ cry. He hadn't even cried when his dad left all those years ago. "Brit is really close with my family," he began. "Especially my grandma." Rachel did not need to know that he called her Gran-Gran. That was a secret better left unexposed until later, maybe. "About a month ago, they found out that my grandma had cancer. That's why Brit and I have been so…tight lately. She was just upset and we…shared my grandma, you know?" When he looked down at his hands, he saw that they were shaking, so he quickly tucked them into his armpits. "It happened so fast and yesterday-" His voice broke and he found that he couldn't go on.

But he didn't need to. Rachel understood everything and, even though she was still a tad angry at him for intentionally hurting her by implying Brittany was more than just a "sort of relative," she had to comfort him. Sliding across the seat, she took one of his hands, which trembled in hers, and placed it in her lap, rubbing her ringers across his knuckles. Moving closer, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his temple. "I'm so sorry Noah," she whispered. It was a strange hope she had then, a hope that he might completely break down and just sob in her arms. He clearly needed to. Her hopes were dashed when he gulped and removed his hand from hers, placing it around her shoulders and drawing her near. When he rested his chin on the top of her head, she decided that his choice of position wasn't all that terrible. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she felt content and comfortable.

She fit so perfectly into his arms (and again, he was woman…a big womanly puddle…how did she do this to him?). Hugging her tighter, he thought of all the things he wanted to say but bit his tongue hard. There was already too much emotion floating around in the cab of his truck and he refused to add more. Even, and especially, the comment his Gran-Gran had made to him days before she had passed.

"_You like a girl," she had said, a glint in her eye. He didn't understand how she always knew. "I can tell." Pausing, she had placed her index finger on her upper lip and giggled a little. "You need to tell her Noah. Don't bottle up your feelings. It's important for a girl to know, and to know that she's special to you. Don't be a meathead young man."_

The words echoed around in his head and he smiled. Pushing Rachel back, which made her frown, he said quietly, "I like you Rachel and I'm so-sor... I was a jerk, okay? Shouldn't have been one. Not to you."

Though it wasn't quite an apology, it was probably as close as she was going to get. "You were. But I accept your admission of being a jerk and gladly…" Frowning, she realized she didn't know how to properly respond. Gladly what?

"Gladly accept my offer to take you on a real date?"

Her whole face softened and she had the urge to weep with joy. However, she was a strong woman and she wasn't going to allow herself to weaken that much (she had already worn her heart on her sleeve too much with him and since when did she actually weep for joy?). Pressing her lips together, she composed herself and then whispered, "Of course."

When he looked down at her, she almost thought she saw adoration in his eyes, but it quickly vanished as he stretched out a finger to brush a stray hair off of her forehead. "So, can I kiss you now?" Though the comment came out rather flippantly, that was not how Puck meant it. He had lost his grandmother the day before (just another person to exit his life) and all he wanted to do was forget, for a little awhile. Plus, he just really wanted to kiss her. His Gran-Gran would've approved.

The way his fingers brushed tenderly across her forehead, then skimmed down her cheek, to lightly tap her chin, made her shiver. "I suppose it would be-"

Pressing his lips to hers, he effectively ended whatever pontifications she had been about to utter, kissing her until they both forgot to breathe, then kissing her some more. When they finally separated, mostly out of the need for oxygen, he touched his forehead to hers, a dazed smile on his face. She traced her fingers over his lips and smiled herself.

_So, _she thought. _This is what it's like to dream while awake._


	10. Debut

_Author's Note: This chapter was soooo very hard to write, for some reason. Even after watching the best episode of Glee EVER (that is, until we get some more PR goodness, because after last night we HAVE TO, right???). P/R are so much love!!! Words can't even begin to describe the amazingness of P/R. *sigh* Anyway, here's the chapter, please let me know if turned out okay...and next chapter: first date! That should be easier...I think and hope!_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_Debut_**

It was the first time that Rachel had been late for Glee rehearsal but she didn't mind. Neither did she mind the pointed stares of her fellow Glee-mates as their eyes landed on her hand, joined with Noah's. She wondered if Noah cared but a glance at his face revealed nothing of what he was thinking. Across the room, Finn seethed while Quinn grinned triumphantly, obviously glad that her assumption about the two had been true. Jabbing her elbow sharply into Artie's side, she nodded in Rachel and Noah's direction, not noticing the way he rolled his eyes at her action.

Mr. Schuester, not one to be involved in the love polygons of the kids, did a double take then cleared his throat. "I'd appreciate it if you two were on time next rehearsal."

Taking a seat, Noah tugged on her arm, pulling her into position next to him. As if it was something he did every day, he slid his arm across her upper back, settling his fingers on her shoulder. "Sure thing Mr. Schue."

Swallowing, Rachel allowed her eyes to dart to Finn once more, noting the way his head tilted to the side as he gazed though narrowed slits at nothing. She could only imagine what he was thinking and feeling at that moment. It broke her heart because she did truly care for him, just not the way she had and not the way he wanted her to. Noah really needed to have a talk with him but Rachel was not sure how to go about convincing him of that. Their relationship was so very new and he was going through a difficult time in his life. A confrontation with Finn was the last thing he needed. But, as she contemplated it further, she realized that one would come even if Noah didn't seek it. Finn probably wouldn't be content to simply sit on the sidelines. Taking a deep breath, Rachel tuned in on what Mr. Schuester was saying and was taken aback when the words coming from his mouth included "done for the day" and "see you tomorrow."

How long had she and Noah been in that truck?

As if he was reading her thoughts, Noah smirked at her, then helped her to her feet, gently, eliciting a smile from her. She felt a stirring to return to the Point, if only for a short while (she did have a ton of homework and she didn't want to worry her parents by staying out too late), there was something she needed to do first. "Noah," she said softly, holding her ground and causing him to stop. "I need to talk to Quinn for a second, okay?"

His upper lip curled in frustration. "Why do you want to talk to her?"

"It's just something I have to do," she told him firmly, a determined look in her eyes.

Shrugging, he backed away from her. "Meet me by your locker in ten minutes."

Nodding, she sincerely hoped that Finn wouldn't find him within the span of that ten minutes. Once he was gone, almost all the members of Glee surrounded her, demanding information. Finn had already taken off and Santana was glaring at her with so much anger in her brown orbs Rachel feared the other girl's wrath projected on her may cause her to internally combust. Squaring her shoulders, she marched through the throng, standing before Quinn, who had been pushed to the outside of the circle by Mercedes and Kurt. "There is a matter of a delicate nature that I must discuss with you," Rachel stated calmly, ignoring the questionings of her friends.

Skeptical, Quinn raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

The others had grown silent at the interaction between the two and Rachel could practically feel them, collectively, breathing down her neck as they anticipated the exchange between the two girls. "Away from prying ears."

A smug look crossed Quinn's face. Rachel could almost hear the other girl taunting everyone else, as she believed she would get the scoop on the Puck and Rachel before anyone else. Linking her arm with Rachel's, which gave Rachel pause since Quinn Fabray had never behaved in such a manner before (was Artie having an effect on her? Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a soft smile on his face so Rachel guessed yes), Quinn led her out of the room. "I was right," declared Quinn, once out of earshot of the others. "About you having an unlikely more than friendship with Puck."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel faced her once enemy, now something else, though _what _she wasn't sure, expressionless. "Yes, Quinn, you were correct in your assumptions." Rachel waited until Quinn's congratulatory smile fell from her face, replaced by curiosity, before she spoke again. "But the problem is that Finn still has feelings for me."

"Boo hoo," said Quinn, emphasizing the 'hoo.' "Poor little Rachel, stuck in her very own love triangle."

Gritting her teeth, Rachel counted backwards from ten in her head before commenting on Quinn's conflicting behavior. "I'm confused. One minute, you seem extremely pleased to have a conversation with me. Was that only because you wanted to gloat about the fact that you were correct about the state of my relationship with Noah? Most likely. Although, just so you are clear, you were not correct when you first confronted me about the matter. Now, you are insulting me not only with your words but also with your tone. I requested an audience with you because I had a question about something."

Shifting on her feet, and leaning back against the wall, it almost seemed as if Quinn's face lost a little of it's usual hard edge. "You need to learn to take a breath when you talk. Do you ever pause, at all?"

Thinking back to her time with Noah in his truck, Rachel both smiled and blushed.

"Ew. Never mind," Quinn protested, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I don't think I want to know the answer. So what did you want to talk to me about?" She almost sounded sincere.

"It's about Finn. I know this may be slightly awkward for you but-"

Quinn's hand, shooting up, palm in Rachel's face, brought Rachel to an abrupt halt. "I get it Berry. You and Puck have a thing but Finn still likes you and you want to know if you should talk to him. Since I dated him for so long, you were hoping for a little help." A grin that reminded Rachel of the Grinch (the one who stole Christmas) spread across Quinn's face. "I have so much power over you right now." Placing a hand on her hip, Quinn feigned thinking the matter over. "I suppose that I can help you. But you'll owe me one."

"Well," said Rachel, her voice very steady. "When you need advice about your relationship with Artie, I will make sure to clear my schedule so that you and I can appropriate a certain amount of girl time to discuss your feelings." When Quinn's mouth flopped open, Rachel almost laughed, but the bright crimson in the other girl's cheeks surprised her. Could Quinn actually like Artie?

"I do not…" Moving her shoulders uncomfortably, Quinn trailed off. "Whatever. Look, about Finn, just give him time. Don't try to be his friend 'cause that won't work out good for you. Just back off and wait it out. He'll come around."

It was what her head had been telling her but it was nice to have confirmation. "Thanks Quinn." After a slight hesitation, Rachel leaned forward and gave the other girl a quick hug. Shocked, Quinn remained speechless as Rachel backed away. Smiling, Rachel turned to leave, ready to be in the arms of her boyfriend (was he that? They hadn't actually discussed much after their initial conversation). Over her shoulder, she called out, "And I'm serious about Artie."

Befuddled, Quinn stood very still for a moment before vacating the area herself, an odd expression marring her usually lovely features.

Artie and Quinn?

Never. Ever.

Rachel Berry was crazy, plain and simple.

- - - - - -

Reclining against the cool locker, Puck waited for his girl. Something tugged at the corners of his mouth and pretty soon he was smiling.

His girl.

He liked the sound of that.

When footsteps sounded down the hall, he tensed, half expecting Finn to charge around the corner and plant a fist square against his jaw. Instead of a giant football player, a petite diva, with dark hair, came gliding towards him, a faint smile touching her lips as soon as their eyes met. As soon as she was within distance, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest.

"Have you spoken with Finn about us?"

Way to kill the mood. He'd just been about to suggest another trip to the Point but she had to bring up a sore spot. The last time he had discussed Rachel with Finn he had practically pushed the guy in her direction. Okay, so that was exactly what he had done. And now he was sure that Rachel would expect for him to -

"I hope you haven't. Not yet. Let's give him some time to process…us."

"Really?" Puck pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes intensely searching hers, attempting to discover if she was being truthful with him. All he saw was honesty, which made him feel giddy (like a freaking school boy? Rachel had certainly done a number on him but he was starting to care less and less about how girly he was being). Grinning, he captured her lips with his, slightly surprised when she placed her hands on his chest and slammed him into the locker. "Jeez Rach," he moaned.

"Did I hurt the big, bad football player?" she teased, splaying her hands against his muscles and quirking her lips.

"No," he murmured, circling her wrists with his fingers. "Would you like to try?"

"Definitely," she purred, already moving in the direction of the double doors that led out of the school. "The Point?"

"You read my mind," he said, his tone nothing if sultry.

The two almost ran out to his truck as someone watched them, a frown on his face.

The whole situation was mind boggling. He kept replaying the scene of Puck and Rachel entering the music room.

Together.

Happy.

It didn't make any sense.

Puck had told him to go get the girl but then he, the guy who pretended to be such a good friend, had gone and gotten the girl himself.

Gritting his teeth, the boy, who had gone unnoticed during Puck and Rachel's nauseating display of affection, decided that he had to do _something._

Finn Hudson wasn't going to sit on the sidelines and let Puck steal the girl he wanted.

He was so going to get into the game and play to win.


	11. First Date

_Author's Note: I am SO sorry for having made you guys wait so long for this chapter. I'm kind of at a standstill w/ this story, where I know what I want to happen but I just can't write it out. So...this chapter may be crap or forced or something. But I tried. I really tried. Please let me know what you think. :)_

**_Puck's Girl_**

**_First Date_**

Puck's usual dating routine consisted of either picking a girl up in his truck and heading to the Point or just going to her house and "hanging" out with her, neither of which could really be considered a real date. With Rachel, he knew things had to be different.

Special.

Because she was different and special. And he didn't want to mess things up.

Not with her, not this time.

With one hand gripping the steering wheel and the other twitching nervously in his lap, Puck drove, faster than he should've, to Rachel's house, where he would exit his vehicle, knock on her door, escort her back to the truck and, of course, open the truck door for her.

It was all so…_Saved By The Bell_, or something. He'd have to deal with it, though, if he wanted her to stick around until desert.

And he really wanted her to stick around a lot longer than that.

- - - - - -

As Noah drove, to an as of yet undisclosed location, Rachel stared silently out the window while absent mindedly skimming her fingers over the material of her lucky pink skirt. She was very curious about what Noah had planned for their first date but he had not said above two words since helping her into his truck, grunting "Watch your step," as he did so. Glancing at him out of corner of her eye, she noticed the way his fingers were drumming on the seat.

Could it be? Was he…nervous?

The thought made her giddy and, before she could stop it, she giggled.

Furrowing his brow, Puck cast his eyes in her direction for a moment. "What's so funny?"

Stifling the laughter with a hand, she realized what her indiscretion might cost her. Her brain quickly scanned possible answers she might relay to him and, in the end, she decided that being honest, if not completely, was best. "I was just thinking about what our previous selves might have thought upon learning that we were going on a date. I don't think we would believe us."

Snorting and shaking his head, Puck said, "That's some weird logic, Berry."

Before she could protest and argue that what she had said made perfect sense, Noah brought the truck to a halt, parking it under a lamp in a parking lot. Her train of thought gone, she twisted her head from side to side as it dawned on her where they were. Tears, the happy kind, welled in her eyes at Noah's thoughtfulness. Turning to him, she whispered, "I…this is…perfect." Reaching across the seat, she captured his hand with hers, giving him a small squeeze to let him know what it meant to her that he had brought her there. When his eyes met hers, she believed that she maybe she saw the sheen of wetness on his lovely hazel eyes but he blinked once and his eyes looked as they always did again.

"It's just Denny's," he grumbled.

But they both knew perfectly well the significance of the diner chain.

"I know exactly what I'm going to order," Rachel told him, closing her menu after they had been seated (at the same table where they had sat all those months ago when they had first agreed to be friends, which made her wonder if Noah had called ahead and requested the spot?). When he laced his fingers with hers, a shiver ran down her spine.

"Cool. I'm going to get something meaty."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel propped her wrist on the table just as the waitress came. After she left, Rachel's salad and Noah's meaty cheeseburger recorded on her order pad, Rachel smiled at Noah encouragingly. "I'm so glad that we're here, together, on a date, Noah. It took us long enough." He didn't respond but for a slight arch of one eyebrow and she felt her heart rate increase. Was he not as glad as she? "I've been contemplating our…tempestuous relationship and have come to the conclusion that I really don't know that much about you. You may not know much about me either, although during the course of our friendship I did ramble on about even the smallest details of my life. I'm sure you don't remember where my Uncle Lars' just in case money is-"

"Top drawer," Noah interrupted, his expression not changing. "Of his dresser. Probably shouldn't give out that kind of info, Rach."

A glowing, happy feeling scurried it's way up her back. He _had_ been listening to her words, even the most insignificant. "That just proves that you know me. I want to know _you_."

Something flickered across his face and she found herself growing anxious, the burden of knowing him weighing heavily on her. "I…live with my mom and sister," he said, turning his eyes downward and concentrating on the hard surface of the table. "I'm on the football team and in Glee. What else do you need to know?"

Frowning, Rachel chose to ignore the bluntness of his question, noting the absence of a father figure in his mention of housemates. "What about your father?" she asked softly.

Rather abruptly, he yanked his hand away from hers, placing it under the table. "He's not around."

Clearly, it was a sensitive subject and Rachel knew that it was one to be avoided if she wanted their date to go well.

And she did.

Because she still wanted to be Noah's girl and she wasn't quite there yet.

- - - - - - -

Though Puck had reacted defensively over Rachel's question about his dad, he soon found himself letting his guard down, more or less, and he was talking about his grandma. How she always knew when he had done something wrong. How she had baked him snicker doodles every Saturday afternoon since he was five. How she had attended all of his Junior League football games. How she had sewn him that embarrassing red and gray sweater but had told him she understood if he chose not to wear it. He had, once, on Christmas, the year he was 14.

He felt stupid for blathering on but, really, she was the one asking all the long drawn out questions while his answers were much more succinct. Still, he had opened up to her in a way he never had to anyone else. It was too easy with her, to reveal more than he intended. Her wide eyes were lacking in any type of judgment and lit up with each story.

It meant a lot to him.

_She_ meant a lot to him.

With an inward sigh, he decided, just this once, not to punish himself for being such a girl and instead center all his energies on making it through the date without being a total idiot.

So far, he hadn't blown it but the night was not over.

- - - - - -

Their next destination was the Point but Rachel knew he hadn't parked there simply because he wanted to make out with her (though she hoped he wanted to do that as well) but because the place had meaning to the two of them, just like the Denny's had. Placing a hand on his thigh, eliciting a startled reaction out of him, she leaned over and murmured, "What are you thinking about, Noah?"

He was quiet a moment before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest. "About…this. This date."

"It's going well, don't you think?"

When the question hung in the air, she felt queasy. What if he wasn't having a good time? Sure, he had participated in the conversation at dinner and had smiled at her several times (he was beyond gorgeous when he smiled, and after each time she had to resist melting into a puddle of Rachel-goo) but he didn't emote quite the same way as she did, which meant that she was mostly blind to his opinion on their date.

At long last, he spoke. "Yeah."

Nestling her head against his chest, she was surprised that she understood what the one, small word meant. "I'm having a good time too."

Both lapsed into silence, of the comfortable kind. Outside of the cab, they could hear grasshoppers and frogs.

It was…pleasant.

"Thank you," she whispered, breaking the quiet. "For tonight." She glanced up at his face to see the barest hint of a smile.

"Hey, Rach?" He moved so that he was gazing into her eyes, a seriousness behind them that took her breath away. "Do you…want to make out?"

Biting her lip, Rachel held back her laughter. "Sure, Noah. I would love to."

- - - - - -

The night had gone by rather quickly, in Puck's estimation, but at least it had gone well. She had even told him so. Plus, he had gotten some alone time in his truck with her at the Point. Over an hour of alone time.

Really, he had no complaints.

Like a true gentleman, he walked her to her front door, after he had driven her home, their arms linked at the elbow. Once at her door, he shoved his hands in his pockets and teetered in front of her. "So…we should do this again sometime."

Beaming at him, she nodded eagerly. "We _better _do this again some time Puckerman." Then, standing on her tiptoes, she pulled his forehead to her lips, planting a light kiss against his skin. "Good night, Noah." With that, she entered her house.

He stared into the air where she had been standing, a half smile on his face, both eyebrows arched, for a minute before slowly ambling to his truck.

_Good night, _she had said.

Yeah, it had been that.


End file.
